Niveans and Fairy Tales
by Nahma Paque
Summary: The post-apocalyptic world of mythology, government corruption, and secrets through the eyes of Sari, a 16 year old girl that has her life abruptly transformed by the appearance of a strange old man.
1. Chapter 1

He's a portly old gentleman, simply strolling through the London streets, as if he knows this small piece of the world by heart. Looking to be about sixty or maybe seventy, he is wearing rather outlandish clothes for either his age or the epoch in which the world had landed itself. Think of the Victorian era. Yes, those old waistcoats and the tights, the top hats and the daily dress shoes. The typical self-respective senior citizen would much rather wear neutral colored robes; not attracting attention to oneself is important these days. Think of the old Obe Wan Kenobi from the three later Star Wars movies. It's the best one can do in this dangerous, frugal world. Fashion's not exactly a focal point.

This gentleman's still walking along in his relaxed, observant way. Maybe he is not aware of the reason why our world was so quiet, so tense? No, he would have to be from another galaxy, or have "lived under a rock", as the other eras would have said. He occasionally stops and gaze at the Victorian gate, or the naval statue on the corner, or perhaps he stops to listen to the silence that now occupies the complex patchwork of London. Big Ben no longer tolls every hour, children no longer laugh and frolic everywhere. It's a silence that was louder than any explosion I've ever heard, and I've heard a lot of those.

Watching this comfortable old man in my comfortable little shelter is the most intriguing thing that has happened in my sixteen years of life. Not the most animated, but the most intriguing. I'm tempted to go out and save him from the certain destruction that was to come from being outside without permission. Of course cameras are watching his every move, their lens deciding when the best moment of destruction would be. My guess is in about a minute or so, however harmless the old man seems. The most seemingly harmless people the world had seen had turned out to be the most dangerous, as the galaxy had witnessed firsthand.

Perhaps I should explain all this morbid talk of destruction and death, of silence and watchful cameras, of explosions and dangerous people. I won't go into super depth, because I don't enjoy talking outside of my head, but I'll make it an informational short and sweet summary.

Okay, I'm presuming that you know who Hitler, Fidel Castro, Joseph Stalin, Saddam Hossain, and all these psycho dictators were. And I'm also presuming that you know that some people in this world deserve to be a white padded room all day, every day, for the rest of their lives. They're crazy, right? These crazy people desperately wanted to bring back dead people for good. Well, they eventually unfortunately managed to get to that point in science where you no longer have ethical boundaries, and you can do everything that people had only imagined in their wildest dreams. Yes, they brought back death. They brought back the dictators I mentioned earlier. Smart, right? Well, they somehow also contacted those sci-fi organisms we call aliens. They invented some type of new radio wave that goes out billions of light years in a second. These aliens saw that these insane people had invented this death reverser ray, and they wanted it. Well, honestly, since all the dictators had come back, they'd banded together and created a master plan to take over the world, since personalities apparently don't change with death. The aliens' arrival only inflamed the boundaries of this master plan. The galaxy was now open for taking in these people's eyes. The people refused the kind offer on the aliens' part, and there went the stabile, civilized world. Bada bing, bada boom, we got war.

Oh, and guess what? Since the whole aliens theory just had to come true, so did all that mythological and magical stuff; ironically all the religious figures came out too. Stars Wars is true (George Lucas was, in fact, Luke Skywalker. He just pulled "Luke" out of "Lucas"; "Skywalker" was because of his love of parasailing and being in the air. Oh yeah, by the way, the whole Star Wars story was tied in to the aliens-dictator-death thing. The Dark Side was trying to do exactly what had happened to Earth). Lord of the Rings is true (Frodo was J.R. Tolkien's father's dear friend. Sam was Tolkien's brother; he was so ashamed of being a midget in the real world, that he changed his name and went to go live with the friendly Hobbits). Gods and goddesses are true (Zeus, Allah, God, all the main men of the household are all the same guy. He just likes changing his image for the times and people. Everyone else is his relatives. Imagine the family reunions, huh?). Yep, so are fairies, unicorns (those turned into fish that we call narwhales, after a long and complicated evolution sequence for survival), and that genre of life. Need other examples? How about Twilight? Stephanie Meyer was a vampire herself. Apparently the "classic" vampires, like Dracula, and the Twilight vampire types are in a civil war. Their differences are just determined by which type of vampire they were created.

Oh gosh, it was an insane time. The believers were freaking out, the non-believers claimed they must be seeing and hearing things, and the religious people ran around screaming, "Help us, the end of the world is upon us!". You know what I'm saying. A third of the world, the one with the psychos, was calming watching the chaos that had erupted without them. Not that they minded, but it would have helped their egos a lot more had they been the ones to _officially_, with a televised declaration, start it all.

Another third of the world was befriending all these magical creatures, making them feel generally at ease with their social nakedness. Believe me, they hadn't been thought of seriously in a good thousand years, maybe more. Dinosaurs? Dragons. Salem witch trials? Unfortunately, not true witches, but the ones in other trials actually originated from Hogwarts. Yeah, you guessed it: J.K. Rowling was a witch. Not related to any characters, but found her world to be so fascinating, that she decided that the Muggle world would see it as wonderfully tickling fun to imagine a "fantasy" world that you could make something move from across the room using only a stick of wood.

Oh yes, and the last third of the world just took off. Killed themselves, hid underground, performed Anti-Satan rituals and the like, and so on. They disappeared a long time ago, taking most Earthen traditions with them underground, which is where most of them went. The legend says that they still live there, believing that, whoever their religious figure is, put them there. They all have extremely pale features, almost translucent. That's all the world knows about them, really. We call them _Niveans_. That's all that remains of the other world.

That's really everything that has happened to the world. Ironically, all this coming-out stuff happened on December 21st, 2012. So yes, in a way, it was the end of the world, but it was the end of the world _as we knew it_, not a complete obliteration of the human race. Yes, the Mayan calendar had told of the exact events of the apocalypse, but in time the actual details were forgotten.

It's a shame that the world has morphed into such a chaotic and terrible place. How wonderful life must have been, feeling so sure of one's place in the world. Even though humans haven't been an especially secure and confident species, we've always had at least an idea of what we're supposed to be. But then, it's never safe to say that one is perfect, right?


	2. Chapter 2

Part 2

I slowly peel my eyes away from the man. No point in lingering over the question of his fate. I have to help Rahi, my cousin, and myself survive these times. Our typical rations are potatoes and insects. It's the bare minimum that keeps us nutritionally balanced and alive. We've only several thousand people left on Earth, so the government wants to keep us alive so they're not ruling rubble and sewage stew.

Oh yes, I said potatoes and insects. _Insects_. It's some breakthrough discovery that happened in the 2000s, when world leaders were trying to stop world hunger. There are 200 million insects to one human, so why not use the crunchy little buggers to feed the human race? Plus, they've got more than enough nutrients that humans need. It's not that bad, really. With the potatoes, there are thousands of species, and they grow quite well in many different soil and temperature varieties. Also, they don't spoil quickly.

I get out the insect and potato mash, one of seven different combinations of the foods that we can make safely. I never request the stick bugs or the cockroach ones, though: the stick bugs contain too much leg in them, and cockroaches eat _everything_.

"Rahi! Dinner!" I call to my 15-year-old cousin.

"I'm coming!" After a few moments, he walks into the kitchen. Rahi is one of my two best friends in the world; we tell each other everything, although I think it's mostly for the sake of family and survival. I don't know where Erin is. She disappeared when I was 14 and she was 15, and I haven't heard anything of her since. She's my other best friend, and I miss her terribly.

We eat in silence. There's not much to say, really. The city TV hasn't come on in a while, which means that there's no immediate danger. We would be talking if there was. We've spoken of leaving sometime, but it's never been a plausible thought in our heads. Yes, it would be nice to leave here, but at the same time, it's the only place that feeds us and keeps us relatively warm.

After dinner, we wash the dishes together. I wash, Rahi dries. It's a system that works out for both of us. My eyes keep jerking back to the window, wishing that something of meaning will appear there. I know for a fact that the old man isn't going to turn up again, but still. I guess it's a subconscious and involuntary hope; that maybe his existence was put in my Fate's path to prove that we're not completely doomed to eternal devastation.

"...Sarac? Sarac!" Rahi yanks me out of my contemplative state of mind.

"Huh? Oh. What?" We're done with the dishes, I can see, and now my hands are dunked in the water, soaking, becoming wrinkly little prunes.

"I've been talking to you for at least five minutes, and you haven't been listening to any of it."

"Sorry. What was it you were saying?" I pull my hands out and dry them.

"I saw him too, by the way." There's no questioning what he's talking about.

"How did you know what I was thinking about?" A stupid question, really; our minds are so fine-tuned to each other's, it's scary.

"Well, he's the only person that's been outside for months, and you always sit near the window, so there's no way you couldn't have seen him. Plus, your eyes are going 90 miles per hour back and forth between the dishes and the window." Rahi stops and waits for my response. By this time, we've made our way from the sink in the kitchen, to the other room on the couch. It's a ratty old thing, but it's also a luxury, having that couch, and it's something Rahi and I would have to be hard-pressed to dispose of. It's just me and him, and so we alternate nights sleeping on it.

I lean back into the red-brown upholstery, "Aren't you wondering what that was all about? It's a wonder he lasted that long. You'd think he'd be blasted within a minute, but there weren't any explosions at all."

"That's why I even brought it up. It's strange. No one could survive that. No one." Rahi cocks his head.

"I suppose that maybe the government wanted a clean disappearance. It wouldn't be the first time, either." My face darkens.

Rahi nods his head soberly, "Wherever our family is, whether it's up in heaven, partying with the gods, or being held…well, all we can do is know that we still love them, and they still love us. And I really wish that-" Realization hits me, and I clap my hand across his mouth.

"Oh my gods, I forgot about the cameras!" Our eyes widen at the same exact time. Rahi smacks his hand across his face and groans.

"They were installed only last month. Dang! We completely forgot!" Our voices have automatically lowered down to a barely audible whisper.

"How can we have forgotten something like that? It's life or death, you'd think that our human survival instincts would help us out with that." I growl.

Government officials had come into every shelter in the city, during the night last month, installed cameras quickly, and left a paper memo about the 24-hour watch lens. It was another blow to our already limited independence.

"Sometimes human instincts fail us. That's why the world is how it is; no human instinct caught its mistakes before it careened completely out of control." Rahi says this as a finale to our grand blunder. It makes me feel a little better, but not by much.

We've resolved not to speak again that night. Who knows what else might accidentally slip out? We don't know, and don't really want to find out.

Going to bed tonight, my last thought is this: _What's going to happen to us_?

We're on our toes constantly over the next few days. We're antsy, and understandably so. Staying away from windows has become a full-time job. The only sources of government-approved entertainment are the books _Mein Kampf_ by Adolf Hitler, and _Government Love_ by Kim Jong-Il. Their sole purposes are to brainwash and educate people about how certain people are better than others, and how the government is almighty and righteous. Adolf Hitler did complete his goal of totally obliterating the Jewish race, by the way. He was angry about World War II's outcome, so he killed off every living Jew. It lowered the population by a hundred million.

I'm not going to allow myself to be led into completely hare-brained ideas, so I draw. I'm not the most talented artist, but it's something I thoroughly enjoy. The problem is, is finding the materials to do so. Paper and pencils are scarce, so when I find them, I cherish and save them. It's saved me from completely boredom and insanity before.

I don't exactly know what Rahi is doing. He keeps tinkering with pieces of metal, scratching designs in the cheap wooden floor, or softly knocking on the bookcase. I don't ask him, because of our unspoken agreement (pun unintended) of not talking. Save for the scratching, knocking, clinking, or chewing noises, it's silent for a week or so.

It's then that all hell breaks loose.


	3. Chapter 3

Part 3

Our fears are finally starting to settle down. Rahi and I have begun to have one word conversations about stuff like the weather, or the dishes, or our sleeping arrangements. I'm not as wary of the windows anymore, and I can actually relax, somewhat.

Although, it's no surprise that they wait until we do just that: relax. There's no fun in scaring someone when they're already scared.

Rahi sees them first; he nudges my side. I instinctually look out the window, expectant fear seeping into my veins and flooding my body with heat and cold.

There they are, walking up the street, as if nothing is wrong. As if they aren't about to terminate a person's life. They're big and barrel-chested; just the kind of people you'd want to frighten someone.

I start to panic. We're stuck, me and Rahi. There's no tunnel out, and there's no loophole from these men. There's no hope.

I'm immobilized. Rahi puts a finger to his lips. I realize I'm hyperventilating, and try to calm my breathing. He pulls me by the elbow over to the bookcase. I think,_ The bookcase? What?_ Rahi quietly pushes the bookcase out of the way. I'm amazed. There's a small tunnel way in the middle of the wall, where the bookcase was. The hole is just big enough so that an average human could fit in and crawl. I'm 5 foot 7 and a skinny stick, so I'll fit with room to spare, but Rahi is 6 foot even and has broad shoulders. He'll just have to squeeze a little; he's skinny enough to do that. It won't be, however, I realize with joy, big enough for those guys to follow us through.

We've got to hurry. I can't see the assassins, but I can feel their impending presence, pressing down on mine with a force that leaves me breathless. Rahi practically shoves me into the tunnel, and I can vaguely hear his whisper screaming, "Go! _Now_!" I now know what a caterpillar, or a baby trying to get out feels like. All I feel is the pitch black, the tightness of the tunnel, and the urge to live. I sense Rahi behind me, so that's a small comfort. I keep going. It's a good thing I'm not claustrophobic.

An hour has passed, I think. At least it feels like it. I still can't see any light.

Another hour. I'm starting to get cramped. I wonder how Rahi is doing. He occasionally blows on my bare feet to reassure me that he's still there. I don't think that anyone is following us, since Rahi has had a steady breathing pattern since an hour and half ago. I think he just wanted to get as far away as possible before he could relax.

I finally see a light up ahead. It's a lot fainter than when we entered the tunnel. It's got a greenish hue to it as well. I'm surprised that I recognize the color green, or even know its name. I've never actually consciously seen green before. It makes me sad, just thinking about it. I suddenly realize that I've never seen a lot of colors. Although to know that there are colors other than shades and tints of brown, black, gray, blue, and white, I must have witnessed them sometime. Right?

I slip out of the tunnel into the green light. I have to shield my eyes from the brightness. I hear a thump on the soft ground a minute after me. I suppose that it's Rahi, squeezing his way to freedom. When my eyes adjust to the light, I slowly open them. First I see Rahi. What I see next completely blows my mind.

"It's a forest." I murmur.

Greens of every tint and shade explode everywhere. Columns of brown support the everlasting ceiling of bright green. Rays of soft light filter through small spaces in the ceiling. The ground is slightly springy, and is made up of dark, rich brown chunks of damp dirt. Surrounding every monster column of brown are green…what? I don't know what to call them. They look sort of wilted, but for some reason I know that they aren't dead. They radiate with life. For as far as I can see, there is only green and brown. It's a pleasant feeling, though, of calm and peace. It's something I've never witnessed before. It's the first thing in my life I can truly call beautiful.

Rahi is amazed, but not dumbstruck, as I am.

"It's better than I remember…." That comment snaps me out of my funk.

"'Than you remember'? What's that supposed to mean?" I demand. It's annoying, really. Here we are, in a gorgeous paradise, and he's just now disclosing important information about it.

"You know how I was knocking on the bookcase for all this week," He asks. I nod, "Well, on the first day of silence, I was knocking on it, and I heard a hollow sound. You didn't hear it; you were too concentrated on your drawing to notice anything else. I was glad, actually, that you didn't hear. Anyway, that night, I decided to check out why it was hollow in that spot. I moved the bookcase, and there was this tunnel," He gestures to the gray wall behind us. It seems so out of place, in such a pretty location, "Which reminds me, I have to replace this rock." He hoists up a gray slab and places it over the hole. It appears to not even be there, the way it suddenly melts into the surrounding area. Melts…? I shake it off as a trick of the mind.

"So why wasn't that rock there when we came out?" I insist. I lift one eyebrow suspiciously.

"I left it off because I had a feeling that we would need it." He shrugs. No need to elaborate on that one.

"Oh. Continue."

"So, that night when you were asleep and really asleep, not just half asleep, I crawled through, only to come out here. Let me tell you, I was so confused, that I just stood there for five minutes trying to make sense of all this," He makes a hand movement to indicate all the forest around us, "and I decided to come back the following night, because it was just too good to be true. I actually convinced myself it was a dream! Ha!" It's the first time I hear Rahi actually, really laugh. It surprises me, since we've never had time to have fun, or things to laugh about. I like it, though. It's pleasant, and warm, and it makes you want to laugh too. I subconsciously grin. A warm feeling goes through my chest and spreads to the tips of my toes and fingers, to my head.

His laugh and smile fade to a sort of pleased scowl, "But today, when I saw those men coming, I instantly had no doubt in my mind that this wasn't a dream. It was, and is, real. Thank the gods too, because who knows where we'd be if this hadn't been here to save us." He taps on the wall.

We sit in silence for a moment. Then:

"Aren't they going to send someone after us?" I've been worrying about this, but it just now comes to conscious mind.

"It won't open for them." Rahi grins from ear to ear, like he's just accomplished his biggest feat ever.

"What do you mean?" I'm confused.

"It's got a flesh-memory to it. I tried it on a couple animals. You can try it, but it won't work." I press my hand up to the wall. Nothing. I try it with the other hand. Still nothing. He's not lying, which is a very good thing, because if it did open for anyone else, then we would dead for sure.

Another thing comes to mind, "Wait, how did you get animals to test it with?"

He thinks about it, his brow furrowing, "I don't know, actually. I was thinking the same question as you, the first one I mean, and then some of them just…came up to me, I guess. It was strange."

"It's not like you minded, though, huh?" I nudge his shoulder with mine, smiling. He smiles back. We're joking with each other. It's a change of atmosphere, and I love it. I love it all: the green and brown, the beautiful light, the happy feeling of just having a good time with my family.

"Hey, do you want to go look around? I haven't done that yet, and plus I want to get in as much experience with this place before nightfall. Do you know how to climb a tree?" He takes my hand in his and hoists me up to my feet. We start to walk on what seems to be a pathway.

"A tree? Is that what these giant things are called?" I reach my hand out and let it slide along the _trees_, and gaze up at their immense height.

"Yeah. The word just came to me when I first got here. I don't know where I'd heard it from before, though." We're walking along quietly, just enjoying each other's company and the presence of the forest.

We've been going for an hour. The light is starting to dim, and it makes the forest look slightly intimidating. I sidle up closer to Rahi. A little while goes by, and the light is nearly gone.

Rahi stops and looks around, "I suppose we could sleep up there for tonight?" He points up at the now barely visible ceiling of dark green.

"What? Sleep up…there?" Gulping, I imagine falling out and breaking my…no, don't think, just do.

"Yes. We don't know what lives out here, and I don't want to wait and find out on the ground, where it's open and things can see us. Now move." We go to the nearest tree, and start to climb. _Thank the gods that there are things sticking out_, I think. They act as footholds, and I slowly make my way to the top. Rahi stays next to me the whole time, encouraging me and forcing me on when I want to stop, or get scared.

"Just don't look down," He tells me, "and use the branches to pull yourself up with." _Branches_. Another new word.

Finally, we reach the top. It's actually comfortable, laying here on the canopy of _leaves_. That's a word that Rahi told me on the way up. It's the ceiling that I saw, and pretty much accounts for everything green here. I go over the additions of vocabulary I learned today: _forest_, _tree_, _branches_,_ leaves_. There's probably many more words that I haven't learned yet, but I'm excited with the words I have now.

I slowly drift off to sleep, smiling, reveling in our newfound freedom.

_Forest_, _tree_, _branches_,_ leaves_….


	4. Chapter 4

Part 4

It's the bright morning light that wakes me. Rahi is still sound asleep, a faint smile playing across his lips. He looks so peaceful, that I have no desire to wake him. I look around me, and see nothing but _leaves_. The word tickles going down my tongue. I decide to continue going up the _tree_, to see what's above.

All it is, is sky. Blue, blue sky, interrupted only by fluffy white things. This time, the ceiling is blue, and the ground is green. The ground moves with the gentle breeze, and I instinctually know that I can't walk across the ground, otherwise I'll fall right through the sea of green. I sit there for a few more minutes, before I remember Rahi, and begin to make my way down.

Rahi has just woken up, and is frantically looking around him.

"Don't run off like that, Sarac! What if you had fallen? What would I do without you?" He was angry, obviously, and his tone was stern.

"I'm sorry. You would have gone to explore the sky, too, though. It's beautiful. You should go see." I wince, and try to gloss over the moment. He grunts, and we climb up together to the view. We sit there for a long time, just swaying to the rhythm of the breeze, when our stomachs simultaneously grumble. In our excitement, we've forgotten to eat dinner and breakfast. We're not used to skipping meals, though; we've always had enough food to keep ourselves satisfied.

"What do we eat? It's not like we can just pop things into the microwave." I ask.

"Well, we do eat insects, don't we?"

"Yeah…."

"So, aren't there 200 million insects to one human? They can't all be in a lab waiting to be eaten. They have to come from somewhere." Rahi has always been the rational one, and I appreciate it, because I can't always think straight, especially at times like these.

"I never thought we'd actually have to _hunt_ for our food." We make our way down to the ground, picking and searching for bugs as we go. By the time we touch base, we've eaten our fill of insects, and are relatively happy. I miss the potatoes, but I can't be very picky right now.

There's nowhere to go but forward. We continue onward, still eating as we go. We have no idea when the next time we'll get to eat is.

As the day progresses, I get to have a good look at the sky. There's a big ball of blinding light in the middle when we stop to rest. _Sun_, a tiny voice in my head chirps. I'm thirsty and hot, not to mention covered in wet stuff that just came out of nowhere. _Sweat_, my mind tells me. The words just keep popping up.

We find a stream that's crystal clear and super cold. It feels amazing, flowing down my throat. We drink enough to sate both our hunger and thirst, and keep moving.

We go on for days, maybe two weeks. We eat and drink when we can.

The trees looked the same for a while: thick brown columns, green leaves. Now they're thinning out, and becoming skinnier, and the _trunks_ of the trees are becoming grayer in color. I have a feeling that we've moved north, and covered a lot of ground.

There are also a lot more leaves on the ground. They crunch, and cause a lot of noise.

I want this journey to end, to come to a conclusion, but at the same time, I'm content with just marching on in silence, seeing tree after tree, _shrub_ after _shrub_.

One day, maybe three weeks into our silent march, Rahi stops. I bump into him, because I retreat into my mind in the morning, to prevent boredom in the long hours.

He places a finger over his lips. He points to a bush. I struggle to see what he is pointing out. Then, I see her: a woman, bent down, collecting something. She's plucking things from the ground, and is facing away from us. She seems intent in her work. Suddenly, though, she seems to sense us, and whirls around. I gasp.

Her face and hands are whiter than anything I've ever seen. They've a luminous quality to them, almost like they're glowing. Her hair is white too; it descends her back, tied in a straight knot. She is a hunchback, and slowly backs away, the whole time keeping her eyes focused only on us. She appears alarmed, and starts running into the forest as fast as she can.

"Hey!" Rahi shouts after her, and runs in the direction in which she has fled. I sprint off after the two of them. After only a few minutes of a wild chase through the trees and _bushes_, Rahi stops, his chest heaving from exertion.

"Ran…here. Couldn't…follow. Disappeared…there." He can only speak in short bursts of one word rushes of air. I'm not nearly as tired, because once I saw Rahi stop up ahead, I slowed to a reasonable jog. I wait until he has caught his breathe.

"Where did she disappear?" I ask, after he has calmed down.

"She ran through that dirt wall." We look to the dirt wall to which he has just indicated. It's the bottom of a fallen tree, the dirt clinging to the roots that stick up in the air.

"That's impossible, though."

"I know what I saw." We start poking at the wall. We try running through the bush at the wall, telling it to open, punching it, even. But it doesn't move an inch.

It's nearly nighttime when we give up.

"How did she do that? We've tried everything, and nothing, absolutely _nothing_, has worked." Rahi is mumbling to himself, as he is still convinced he saw her go through the wall.

"Maybe she climbed over it. Or maybe she was just an apparition." I'm leaning against the wall of dirt.

"No, she wasn't. You think I'm a liar, don't you?" Rahi shoots an accusatory glare at me.

"No, I'm not! It's just that you're really tired, and perhaps you saw what you wanted to see. Maybe you were waiting for a miracle." I feel myself getting sucked into oblivion. Rahi grabs me, and pulls me back.

"What just happened? What did you say?" Rahi demands, shaking my shoulders.

"I just said, 'Maybe you were just waiting for a miracle.'" The wall still doesn't move. I'm confused as to why, though.

"You were sitting against it. Maybe it just needs some sort of contact with it." Rahi leans down and grabs a rock.

"On the count of three, I'll throw the rock and say, 'Miracle'. Okay?"

"Okay."

"One, two…three. Miracle!" He throws the rock at the wall, and when he says "miracle", the rock disappears.

He turns to me, grinning like a mad person, "I think we just found our 'miracle'."

"Let's jump through." I'm feeling like a daredevil.

"Okay." We link hands, and walk towards the wall. I try not to wince as it comes fast towards us.

"Miracle."

I can honestly say that I've never been more surprised in my life.


	5. Chapter 5

Part 5

I'm falling into dirt. I breathe it in, and snort it out. Rahi helps me up from the ground, and I shake myself off. I look around me. Like the forest, this new place shocks me.

It's a whole other civilization. From the entrance to this dark new world, which is raised above what seems to be a city teeming with life, I can see for miles and miles. The only source of light appears to be from _lanterns_, lit with _fire_, lining every street and passageway available. This city resembles an _anthill_, what with its hustle-and-bustle. It's completely different than London. London is a dead location, with its citizens hiding away in their little shelters, trying to make as little noise as possible; whereas this place is full of life. I can hear people shouting greetings, making trades, enjoying life.

Nobody has noticed Rahi or me yet. They seem to be extraordinarily too busy with their lives to notice anything or anyone else. We commence our way into the center. It's dark and dim, so no one can tell that we're foreigners. I presume that they are all as pale as the woman we saw run into the dirt wall, but I could have never anticipated just _how_ pale these people really are. Just like the woman, they seem to glow of their own accord. It's fascinating, seeing the different intensities of glow. Some barely glow, and others radiate brightly, almost as if they contain their own little sun, hidden by a layer of skin.

But we can't hope to hide forever. There's no mistaking our lack of glow, so as we continue to make our way along the streets, more and more people stop to stare and whisper. Eventually, there's complete silence. Then cacophony.

All of a sudden, there are humans everywhere, running into homes and shops. I automatically know that they are running from us: the intruders, the impostors. However, seeing as we trespassed into their little world, I'm not alarmed at all to see their reaction. Soon, the streets are empty, and the world deathly still.

We stand, in the middle of what I think is a city square. It's wide, with a pretty fountain in the middle. It's made of marble, and…. _What is that_?

It is indeed. It's the Trevi Fountain.

_They saved the Trevi Fountain_, I think.

I say "they" subconsciously. I know exactly who these people are, now. Although, I can't believe I haven't figured it out before.

Rahi, of course, says it at the same time I think it, "Oh my gods, Sarac. These are the Niveans."

_We've found them_, I think. I nearly cry with joy. We knew about this civilization all our lives, and yet knew nothing. It's a beautiful feeling, knowing you've found something lost for generations and generations.

"Can you believe it, Rahi? This is amazing!" I laugh.

"This is just like the forest. I feel like I'm in a dream." Rahi is slightly dazed looking. We celebrate for a few more minutes.

Now that the initial joy is gone, I'm back to feeling intrusive.

"We should probably find whoever leads this place. It'd be nice to meet whoever has kept this secret." Rahi nods his agreement.

"Sit on my shoulders. You'll be able to see more from there." Because these people are so small, so are their buildings. They're only ¾ of London's buildings' sizes. I can see a big mansion-looking settlement, and it looks rather official.

"Over there. It's not like we've got much choice." I point over to my right, and dismount Rahi's shoulders. We set off in the direction in which I gestured. Once we get there, I go up and knock on the door.

"Hello? Is there anybody there?" There's no response.

Rahi tries his hand at it, "We've nowhere to go, and plus, we know where you are, so you might as well open up. I hate to be so brusque, but we're rather desperate." The door opens an inch.

"Yes?" It's blaringly apparent that these people are afraid of us, and why shouldn't they be? We're the tan giants that just invaded their space, and discovered their secret.

"Can we please come in? We're tired, and hungry. We have no weapons, so there's nothing we can do to hurt you." It's hard to argue with Rahi, since he's an intimidating giant, what with his all-around brown appearance, and his soothing tone of voice. I suppose that he's a natural with people, although he's never really had the chance to really see it before.

The door opens after a moment, but I can tell that it's with a hesitant hand that this happens. We step inside. It's still dim, but not as dark as outside the mansion. I see the owner of the voice. It's the woman that ran through the wall. She looks guilty, as if she has done something mortifyingly wrong; which, I suppose she has. If she hadn't been seen by us, then we never would have entered this colossal cavern full of inhabitants. She closes the door behind us, and scrutinizes our every move, from an impatient shuffle to a twitchy hand. Then she scurries away through another door.

Rahi and I glance at each other. What now? Our shared look says it all.

A person, which obviously has great authority, bursts into the majestic room. He's just as pale, and glows just as much as everyone else here. He carries himself with confidence, with which only one with power would dare have. He stares at us with a gaze that makes me uncomfortable. Rahi, however, gazes right back. The person, apparently satisfied with what he sees, slides on over to the chair in the middle of the room. I realize we're standing in a throne room, which is heavily decorated with obsidian and emeralds, diamonds and pearls. I feel quite gracious to be standing in a room as stately and regal as this.

"So." The person speaks this one word, and the sound resonates throughout the room. It lingers there; we wait for him to continue.

"So. I would like to know this: what are two Upper World children doing so far away from home? In fact, what are they doing out at all?" He seems to already know the answer to this, but he makes no motion to offer his answer.

"We were…in danger, sir. We had to either flee, or die." Rahi, by unspoken consent, has taken the initiative to be our spokesperson. I have no problem with this.

"Ah. I see. From what city do you originate?" The man leans his arm on the chair, and rests his chin upon it.

"London, sir."

"You have come a long way. I am sure you have want for food and drink, and shelter too?"

"Yes, please; we would be most grateful."

"I am surprised. Normally Upper Worlders are not so polite and minimal in their requests."

"You've met one before? Sir." Rahi quickly adds the title, as to not offend the man. He has adopted a rather polite and rigid tone of voice.

"Unfortunately, yes. They would have liked to take us over. But come, we mustn't dwell on things of the past," The man claps his hands, and two people appear, "Take these people to their rooms. Make them as comfortable as possible." The two nods curtly, and stand there waiting.

The man turns to walk away, but he turns back around and speaks to us, "Oh, yes, I never got your names. Mine is Ican, but you can call me Your Majesty, or sir."

"I'm Rahi." Ican nods, and turns to me.

"And I am Sarac."

"Rahi, Sarac, I would stay, but I have duties to tend to. I'll have Erin or Carlen show you around once you have rested."

"Thank you. This is all very much appreciated." Rahi bows slightly, and I curtsy slightly.

"You're welcome." Ican briskly walks out of the throne room.

"Come with me, sir and miss." One of the servants, I guess they're servants, wave at us to go with them, and we do. We travel up two flights of stairs, before we arrive at our rooms, one right next to the other.

"Thank you." Rahi and I thank the servants, and go into our separate rooms.

I take my first bath in weeks. The filth fairly floats off, turning the bathtub into a brown lake. It feels good to be clean. They have nice clothes, just my size, that I guess they dropped off when I was taking my bath. I have three rooms to myself; I'm not used to it yet. I'm accustomed to sharing two rooms with Rahi. There's the actual bedroom, in which the bed is big enough to fit at least five people; the bathroom, which has a sink, a shower, a toilet, _and_ a bathtub; and the closet. I feel bad, having all three to myself, when one of these rooms is big enough to fit an entire family.

I change into a green dress, since it reminds me of the forest. All they seem to have are dresses. I'm used to pants and a shirt. It's too airy between my legs, and I feel like I am going to trip over the extra fabric. Honestly, who needs all this fabric for one piece of clothing? I wonder how many shirts and pants this dress would make. Two or three of them? That would be good. I can't deny the fabric being pretty, but there's so much of it.

I can't believe how soft that soap makes my skin, or how silky it makes my hair. These people appear to love anything beautiful, including themselves. I look in this big round shiny thing, and I can see my reflection for the first time.

I have green eyes, I'm happy to see. They're large, and fringed with long dark full eyelashes. My face is sort of round, ending with a point at the bottom. My cheekbones are round, and are slightly raised below my eyes. My forehead is 3 ½ fingers. I count it when I place my hand on my forehead. Where my forehead stops, and my hair starts, is round too, but comes down in a little point in the middle. My hair is a sandy blonde color, and is very smooth. It's parted off-center, and comes down to the middle of my back. My lips are cute, I think. They're a healthy rose color, and they curve slightly downward, but it's not unpleasant. They're full, I guess, and are soft as my skin. My nose looks like half of a triangle protruding from my face. It's average size, though.

I've never really thought of appearances, to be honest. It's far more important to live than be flashy or attractive.

I hear a knock at the door.

"Come in!" I call out.

The door opens.

My jaw drops. Before this journey, I would have thought it impossible.

It's Erin.


	6. Chapter 6

Part 6

I nearly don't recognize her. She's morphed from a dark, skeletal child in rags, to a fair, filled-out woman in clean, pretty attire. I suppose that she refused to wear a dress, because she's in white leggings, with a long, dark pink shirt with a twisted-gold strip tied around the small of her waist.

It astonishes me how, from just one look at my reflection, I can see, really see, what people look like. Another time, I would not have thought to look at a person closely, to inspect their appearance, but now it seems as though I can see every detail on their body.

Erin has grown taller, much taller, in the two years since I saw her last. Her hair is no longer cut short, but flows freely down her back, like a dark brown curtain. She is pretty, in a feral sort of way. Her eyes are almond-shaped, and are a deep black. They have a slight slant upwards, as do her eyebrows. Her cheekbones are slashed through the top of her cheeks, so that a small shadow forms underneath them. She has a strong jaw, and a firmly-set mouth. Her nose is nearly flat on her face. She has faded from a light brown color, to a nearly luminescent yellow. She has the appearance of one who has suffered much.

She takes in my own look as well. This exchange happens within 30 seconds. Neither of us can find the correct words for a moment such as this. We just stare at each other, still unbelieving of what we are witnessing.

Erin, having always been the levelheaded one of us two, speaks first.

"I'm sorry." She says these first few words rather timidly. As she has always been such a strong person, I'm shocked to watch her attempt to shrink back, presumably in fear of my anger.

"For what?"

"Leaving you."

"Ah." I have dreamt of this moment for a long time, and it has always contained a happy reunion, with lots of laughter and hugging. Not this awkward, two-word dialogue we're currently having.

Erin seems to suddenly remember her purpose, "I'm supposed to escort you and Rahi to dinner."

"Can you promise me to tell me _everything_, once we get back here? I want Rahi here too."

"Of course." She nods curtly and escorts me out into the hallway to wait for Rahi. She knocks on the door, and my cousin slips out, comfortably clothed in simple garments; a green tunic, and brown pants. I guess that he loves the colors of the forest as much as I do.

I take in what feels like the first time seeing him. As with Erin, I'm viewing him with a newly found interest in aesthetic details.

My 15-year-old cousin is tall, has broad shoulders, and has blue eyes. That's all I've really seen up until now. I can now see that he has long, light brown hair. He's pulled it back with a piece of torn cloth, so it looks neater than his usual self. His eyebrows come down low and thick over his eyes, which are the color of the sky I saw in the forest. He still has his tan that he got from those weeks living in the forest. His jaw is square, and his chin prominent, with a slight indentation in the middle. His nose has a slight bump that doesn't look monstrous, but it's completely different from my own. He has thinnish lips, and indentations in his cheeks when he smiles or talks. For the most part, I can see why people would be frightened; he gives off a most intimidating air. It doesn't help much that his gaze is steady and intense.

If Erin is taken aback by Rahi's transformation, she makes no indication whatsoever. He was, of course, only 13 and a skinny boy when she last saw him. However, Rahi is quite shocked by the sight of Erin.

"Is that you, Erin? By the gods, I would never have thought to find you here!" Rahi exclaims, shaking his head.

"Me either. Now, I hate to be rude or curt with you, but I do want to receive my monthly wages, and the king is who pays them. He is expecting us quite soon." She turns and walks away, expecting us to follow. Rahi and I share a quick glance. We no longer know who Erin is. She was never this polite or formal. She certainly never willingly bent to a higher order. But there is nothing to do but tag along. The king seems to be a gracious enough man, and to keep him waiting is rude, indeed.

We go back down the two flights of stairs upon which we ascended. Instead of turning right from the stairs, as is the direction of the throne room, we turn left. After passing a few doors, which lead into more hallways, we enter a splendid and rich room. The walls are striped alternatively burgundy-brown and cream. The long table in the center is a deep mahogany, polished until it has a subtle shine. There are chairs of the same wood and color, lining the sides of the table. The king, Ican, is already seated at the furthest end of room, where there is a fire roaring in an obsidian fireplace. He's going over some papers with, I suppose, his assistant. The assistant takes them away, though, once Ican looks up and sees us. He gestures for us to sit down. We do, both on one side of Ican, sitting side-by-side. The king links his fingers together. We wait for him to say something.

"Have you found your quarters to be to your satisfaction?" He asks with an inquiring tone.

"Oh, yes. They are more than satisfactory, Your Majesty." Rahi and I both nod furiously, simultaneously.

"Good. I do so hate disappointing people. Are you hungry?" He cocks his head.

"We wouldn't mind some nourishment; thank you, sir." I just now realize that I'm, in fact, ravenous. The hunger is clawing at my stomach like a starved, rabid animal. Ican now claps his hands twice, and servants pour into the room, carrying platters of, I think, food. The only platter I recognize is piled high with potatoes. I realize just how much I miss potatoes.

After we have taken our share of food, the servants sit down to eat. They leave the two chairs directly across from Rahi and me and next to the king, empty. As we commence our meal, Rahi and I exchange soft whispers about the abundance of strange food. I try the more exotic-looking foods, and I find that I actually enjoy them, as does Rahi.

"Now where can they be?" Ican wonders aloud.

"I saw them, Your Majesty, and they told me that they were to be a tad bit late." An especially glowy servant pipes up to answer the king's question.

"Ah, thank you, Harper. And speak of the devil, there they are now." Two people, a woman and a boy, enter the room and occupy the remaining seats. The pair strikes me as odd. I realize why, though, within a few seconds.

They don't glow. At all.

I've become so accustomed to seeing the luminescence radiating from every human being I encounter, that it startles to me to see someone resemble Rahi and me.

Ican introduces the woman as Rava, his wife, and the boy as Carlen, his son. Rava wears an all grey dress that shimmers in the firelight. Her hair is also grey, and she has grey eyes that spark with intelligence as well. She even has a slight tan. It's the kind that can never go away, even if she never sees the sun's light ever again. Her face is deeply lined, but it's as if she has not used her laugh lines in a while.

That's all I can see of Rava for now, so I move on to Carlen. I'm thoroughly enjoying memorizing every detail of each person. I thank the gods for that shiny round thing.

Carlen is interesting to look at. He's tall, taller than Rahi, from what I could see when he walked in. His hair is long, and sort of wavy. It's the halfway color between Erin's very dark brown and Rahi's light brown. His eyes are a blue-gray mixture of watchfulness and jokery, a combination of his father's light blue and his mother's bright grey. He has thicker, yet still defined, eyebrows that sit rather low upon his brow. He's pale, as he's a mix of Nivean and human. At least, I presume Rava's human, since she doesn't glow like a Nivean. Carlen has a slim, structured jaw, and cheekbones that seem to have been chiseled out of the skin itself. His mouth is smaller than most, and lips full, with a slight curve to his mouth at both ends.

Carlen has been concentrating on his food until now. He senses me watching him intently, and snaps his head up to meet my gaze headlong.

I'm suddenly breathless when my green eyes meet his blue-grey ones. No, they don't meet; they collide. It's like two powerful walls of water slamming into each other, rooting each other to the spot.

I don't know how much time has passed when I break our eye contact, and excuse myself from the table. It could have been an hour, or only a few seconds. Rahi watches me with an alarmed look that transforms his features. Rava looks at me knowingly.

I run up to my room and rip off my dress. I've been eager to take it off ever since I put it on. I'd intended to ask for pants and shirts, but I'd feel bad if I didn't accept what they'd already given me.

I'm still out of breath, and climb into the giant bed. _What happened down there?_ I have no idea.

_He has beautiful eyes_, I think.

It's my last thought before I slip into unconsciousness.


End file.
